if you want to use layman,i recommend desktop-effects because it is up and running again (have used is sense 2008)
if you want to try my ebuilds you have to have a local overlay http://en.gentoo-wiki.com/wiki/Overlay

For me at the moment I am using emerald but I see that it is not anymore developed, so I am looking for an alternative?_________________Gentoo Linux ~amd64, Kernel 4.5.3, Enermax 400W, Intel i7-3770, DDR3 8GB, Sapphire HD6870

i have updated my compiz sources to VERSION-0.9.9 and updated my compiz-9999 ebuild.
The fist thing you need to do is to clean out all other compiz packages.this is the only package you need to run compiz.
The gtk flag dont compile,i have not tryed the gnome flag but the kde flag works(both kde window decorator and emerald window decorator works) and i have not manage to fix this problem:

************************************************************

WARNING:
"FindCompiz.cmake" file not found in cmake module directories.
It should be installed to allow building of external compiz packages.
Call "sudo make findcompiz_install" to install it.

************************************************************

WARNING:
"FindCompizConfig.cmake" file not found in cmake module directories.
It should be installed to allow building of external compiz packages.
Call "sudo make findcompiz_install" to install it.

************************************************************
here is the plugins that builds for me:

Hedmo thank you very much for the effort. I d/l'ed the files to my custom overlay and all went well. This new compiz is just great, very fast and smooth.
I do have some insight into the error you received and how to fix it. I had the same exact error, so I tried with USE="-gtk" appended to the emerge, as it's in my make.conf flags. Still wouldn't go. I didn't have kde but I did have gnome (even though I no longer use it, I am standalone compiz here and loving it). So I added -gnome to that and tried again. Still no go!
I also noticed a few references to python 2.7 in there. A light went off in my brain, I went to eselect python and set current version to 2.7 (on Funtoo we are 3.3 by default). It compiled perfectly! However, in trying to defeat the problem I had reinstalled libcompizconfig and compizconfig-python. I knew it was a mistake and it was. After the compile was finished the install failed due to collisions with those files. So I unmerged them and this time built compiz with all the flags, didn't disable any, in other words +gtk +gnome. I'm running it right now! No problem flags, just make sure you're running python 2.7.
Hedmo is absolutely right, pull it ALL out, you don't need it. ccsm, plugins, everything installs from the compiz package. No fusion-icon, I think they are dropping that, but if you are really hooked on it I believe the old version will still work with it (untested).
Everything but the Emerald is in the compiz package.
For posterity I would like to explain how I got the emerald to install. As Hedmo notes in the ebuild the file does not download properly and you must download it manually. The old emerald segfaults with the new compiz, so if you want emerald (why wouldn't you?) you must update it. After I manually downloaded it I couldn't figure out how to make a manifest, ebuild kept complaining that it wouldn't download.
Perhaps others more versed with portage know how, but I didn't. What did work for me was to go into the ebuild and change SRC_FILE=https://github.com... or whatever it said to SRC_FILE=file:///path/to/downloaded/file. This made ebuild and emerge quite happy and it installed.
However, I still had a problem with the compile. Rather than waste electrons (and forum HD space) I will refer you to the same problem I had with the older version of emerald, yep, problem's still there: Emerald bug
I seem to be the only one in the world with this problem, but just in case, there it is. Edit: It does install with the fix documented in that bug.
Thanks again Hedmo, happy camper here

Trying to upgrade my 0.8.8. Updated to 0.9.8.6 from desktop-effects - seem to work basically but there are some issues:
1. Configuration changes made by ccsm cause segfaults now and then.
2. After crash and re-login the pointer often got stuck - I've to restart xdm to get mouse back.
3. (the worst) All windows open at upper left corner - placement module doesn't work. Tried out different options - no success.

Sorry to read this... I know it works on Ubuntu, and I saw the other reports it doesn't on Gentoo... Maybe different lib versions?

Quote:

about the wallpaper.it is an unsupported plugin and is under dev.... If you want that you have to install compiz the old
way = compiz-core,compizconfig-python,libcompizconfig,etc as far as i know.

That's what I currently have on my "production" partition. So I've to roll back... It's a pity, 0.9 is faster and seem to have better OpenGL support...

BTW, maybe you may help me with another thing. I use compiz standalone + cairo-dock. I couldn't configure it to normally log off from a compiz session - I use Ctrl/Alt/Backspace to kill the session. It's probably about consolekit stuff, bud I did not find any relevant reading - howto or something to understand how it should be configured... and generally, how it works.

If you google around about standalone compiz, you will find shutdown, restart, etc. scripts. I use consolekit (I think?) for most of it and they say it's going away, but anyhow, works for now. It doesn't have a logout option, that I got from someone else on the web running standalone. Has been working great for me:

Note that the code windows make it look like 2 lines, but the dbus-send statements should all be on one line.
Also, I must point out that the logout routine is not safe, if you are editing a document for example and logout without saving, it's not going to politely ask if you wish to save as Gnome would, it's just gonna get nuked. Fair warning...
Cheers

on 2: my compiz standalone does not go to login.it just stops.my compiz standalone is:

compiz=WM
pcmanfm=wallpaper,gtk themes witch, corsor theme and filemanager
cairo-dock=panel and logout my logout is just killall X not the best way.all you have done and not saved will get lost and you will allways start clean but it works

you dont need to roll back to 0.8.8.as far as know you can roll back to 0.9.7.12.i am going to try to make an ebuild for it
to use with my old stuff (like to have screensaver and freewins back).the compiz on desktop-effects is all in one compiz
but it can be split up.

Thanks, yuyuyak I will fit the scripts into my system. I''ll probably tie it with a power button, too.

@hedmo
If you manage to make ebuilds for configuration that would work - feel free to publish them
So far I didn't comprehend this science (writing ebuilds, I mean). It's upon my list, actually, but I'm not sure when I filally get to it...
Thanks!

BTW - didn't you try SpaceFM as a file manager? It is really great, from my point of view. I've bee hopping from one FM to another until I found this one. Now I'm satisfied. It's originally derived from older pcmanfm but made a log way since then...

No, thank you kanyck. For the tip on spacefm, I love it. A no brainer, just like pcmanfm, spacefm --desktop, no learning curve there. And with pcmanfm I had two 14 MB instances that ran, with spacefm just 1 14 MB instance.
A much improved file manager, it's obvious that ignorantguru has put all his effort into spacefm and pcmanfm is going to get left behind. Very customizable, many new features, it rivals the bloated nautilus without the bloat. And finally, comes with the GTK zenity-like thing, a nice bonus. Here's the new askshutdown script using it. I like it much better, quicker, although I am having trouble with the layout, but the speed makes up for that. Quite reminiscent of the Gnome shutdown screen, they obviously used GTK too.

Trying to upgrade my 0.8.8. Updated to 0.9.8.6 from desktop-effects - seem to work basically but there are some issues:
1. Configuration changes made by ccsm cause segfaults now and then.
2. After crash and re-login the pointer often got stuck - I've to restart xdm to get mouse back.
3. (the worst) All windows open at upper left corner - placement module doesn't work. Tried out different options - no success.

Amd64, USE +gtk -gnome.

Any suggestions?

The 3rd item happens because cmake-utils.eclass appends '-DNDEBUG' to CFLAGS if 'debug' is not set in USE.
Compiz must be set with debug enabled or it will break the window placement plugin (and others?).
All you need do is set 'export CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=none' in your ebuild to override cmake-utils.eclass messing with the debug flag.

I've given monolith compiz-0.9.9-9999 another try after quite a while. It seems much more stable and usable now, and is also quite fast. However, I'm missing some of the old (and new) effects very much: Where are aeroplane, blur, broken window, ghost,...?

Edit: Well, some things aren't that great e.g. I can't apply any animation effects on tooltips.

Thanks, shiznix
Will give it another try when find enough time.
So what branch is more usable at the moment - 0.9.8 or 0.9.9?

I've used both and I honestly can't tell the difference in terms of useability, both seem to work fine.
But I also don't mess much with the plugins either so someone else who does might have a different experience/opinion.

Greetings Hedmo & all.
I see that you have updated to the 0.9.11 version. I have been very happily running the 0.9.9 version for over a year, but trying to reinstall it a few months ago found that it would not. I realize now that was because you had updated - at that time - to 0.9.10 (and now to 0.9.11).
I wish to share what I found. This version requires metacity to be installed. There is no indication of that, I discovered it by the error messages that were generated. Prior to this I had no reason to install it, the previous versions didn't seem to need it. After that it installed without issue.
Also I would like to point out a problem with the ebuild I had a year ago and it's still a valid problem. This install works only with python 2.7 and does not use it automatically. Initially I manually used eselect to choose version 2.7, changing it back when the install finished. But since then I have found a better way that does it automatically from the ebuild. This is much better because if portage decides to reinstall compiz due to new libraries, etc. then it can with no problem. In fact, portage has done that a couple of times in the last year.
In the ebuild you can add "python" to the end of the inherit line. So it looks like this: